BOSTON — A promising Swedish study suggests artificial intelligence could someday lead to quicker and more accurate mammogram results.
Dana Farber medical oncologist Dr. Harold Burstein told Boston 25 News that there’s been a lot of interest in using AI to review different types of scans, including mammograms.
Burstein has been tracking the Swedish study involving more than 100-thousand mammography patients.
During the study, half of their mammograms were read by two radiologists. The rest were reviewed by a single radiologist and an AI program.
“The AI module was able to detect actually, slightly more cancers, so it missed fewer lesions. And secondly, it did that without increasing the callback rate,” said Burstein.
Dr. Burstein doesn’t know how soon this method could be rolled out to patients. He also doesn’t believe AI will ever fully replace radiologists in reading mammograms. But he does believe the technology could be a boon to a field grappling with a labor shortage, and in geographical areas that have little access to mammography resources. “It would begin to be possible to have a remote AI van or equivalent that could do a mammogram, do a pretty good job at early detection of breast cancer, and hopefully change the outcomes for women,” he explained.
The study’s results bring hope to those who have been touched by breast cancer. Beloved Boston radio personality Candy O’Terry lost her mother to the disease when she was just 18. Throughout her career, she remained on a mission.
“The fight against breast cancer became my own personal charity. And I raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the fight against breast cancer,” she said. O’Terry was later diagnosed with Stage 1 invasive breast cancer during a routine mammogram. Although she’d had the test many times before, that day was different.
“I had a doctor who literally kept on sending me back in for more pictures, more pictures. And I remember thinking, she’s concerned about something.” O’Terry was treated with surgery and radiation. She remains in remission today.
She’s thriving thanks to her early diagnosis and the care she received. And she believes future patients shouldn’t have one without the other.
“Let’s use AI-assisted mammography as a second set of eyes. Let’s use it as a tool to help us get there a little bit sooner. But that personal touch that the doctor had that day, that feeling that she had, let’s check again, is irreplaceable.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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